INTRODUCTION

When a big fire has already started, there is no turning back. The fire has to be put off. As we
aware, fire is the most common serious hazard that one faces in a typical in our daily life. Fire is
process of combustion characterized by the emission of heat accompanied by smoke or flame. Mostly
when the term fire is referred to, we mean the uncontrolled fire such as happens in furnaces, etc. Fire
is often unwanted, unexpected, disastrous and costly, both in terms of human life and business costs.

What is causes fire? All of us know that fire exist as a result of combustion/reaction between
3 elements – heat (high temperature), fuel, and oxygen .There is an interrelationship between heat,
fuel and oxygen. This is known as ‘fire triangle’. Fire cannot occur if one of the key components is
missing, i.e.: if the heat, the fuel or oxygen is eliminated. While proper procedure and training can
minimize the chances of an accidental fire based on the knowledge about fire fighting equipment in
order be prepared to deal with a fire emergency when it occur.

Hence in this report, the lecturer Miss Noraziah Wahi give me to searching the information
about the two types of fire fighting equipment in our building to lead all of us understanding about
the fire protection/fighting system. There are:-

 WATER TYPE EXTINGUSHER (PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER)

 WET RISER (NON-PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER)

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 PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER
WATER TYPE EXTINGUISHER

 As we all aware, a fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or
control a fire, often in emergency situations.

 Fire extinguishers have been a major part of fire prevention. The first, primitive fire extinguishers
were most likely created shortly after fire was discovered.

 They come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Their greatest benefit is the convenience and
the safety that they provide.

 Active fire protection can be divided into three headings ;

 Portable Fire Extinguisher

 Non-Portable Fire Extinguisher

 Detector & Alarm System

 Portable fire extinguisher is the first aid fire fighting appliances which can be carried out by
hand. Extremely valuable for extinguishing fire at early stage.

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 Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel, containing a
chemical agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.

 The portable fire extinguisher is cannot be used for large area. It is also must contain the type of
fire extinguishing agent suitable with the type of fire to be extinguished.

 Water type extinguisher is one of other types of portable fire extinguisher besides from carbon
dioxide (C02), Halon gas (BCF & PTM), Dry powder and Foam extinguisher.

 The water fire extinguisher will always be popular as it is simple in content, operation and
servicing. The 9 litre water fire extinguisher is the standard and most have the 13A
rating denoting the size of fire it will put out - our water fire extinguishers have a higher
rating of 21A.

 For the further information, this type of fire extinguisher is generally used to extinguish Class A.
Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard,
and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of
water it holds and the amount of fire it can extinguish.

 On other word, it is the standard items in a shop or office and most of the furniture or
display items will contain these basics. Flammable liquids are a no-no and the major
danger would be fires involving live electrical equipment. For this reason, most water
extinguishers would be accompanied by a CO2 fire extinguisher.

 In recent times, water has been supplemented by additives that make the water more
effective and, therefore, the extinguisher smaller.

 There are mainly two types of water fire extinguishers.

 The air-pressured fire extinguisher, whose mechanism employs the simple principle of air
pressure to spurt water from the container to the flame,

 The water mist spray fire extinguisher which contains pressurized nitrogen mixed with
water to be sprayed as tiny droplets or a mist instead of shooting a strong jet. It is useful
in cramped and small places, and this type of extinguisher typically is a lot less messy.

 The water fire extinguisher can be defined usually into this category of characteristic,
shape and size at the market;

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  9 litre Water Fire Extinguisher 

 6 litre Water Additive Fire Extinguisher 

 3 litre Water Additive Fire Extinguisher 

 Chrome 6 litre Water Extinguisher 

 Chrome 9 litre Water Extinguisher 

 This water fire extinguisher is the basic standard for most situations and high
quality extinguisher has a fire rating of 21A, standard waters have a rating of 13A
 The basis for most calculations with roughly one water per 2000 sq ft or 200 sq m
per floor. They are also cheap to refill and simple to service.
 Suitable for shops, offices, schools, theatres, warehouses or anywhere with
paper, cardboard, curtains, cloth, wood, carpet.
 Anticipated lifespan with indoor use and proper maintenance - up to 10 years.
 Types of fire include Class A (wood, paper, cloth, etc) but DO NOT use near
live electrical equipment.

9 litre Water Fire Extinguisher. (RM91.00)

6 litre Water Additive Fire Extinguisher  3 litre Water Additive Fire Extinguisher

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  It is similar to the Hydro spray. Two-thirds the weight of a traditional 9 litre water but
with one-and-a-half times the fire-fighting ability with a 21A fire rating, it's the choice
of modern fire safety users.
 The special spray nozzle has also passed the 35KV electrical conductivity test making
it safe if accidentally sprayed on live electrics and an excellent personnel safety bonus.

 Suitable for designer-look offices and retail shops, hygiene-sensitive areas.

 Types of fire include Class A (wood, paper, cloth, etc) but DO NOT use near live
electrical equipment.

 Anticipated lifespan with indoor use and proper maintenance - 10 years +

 Special note although this chrome extinguishers are made alongside BS EN3
Kitemarked ones and with the same components, as they are not painted red, they
cannot display a Kitemark or BAFE approval.

 3 litre Water Additive Fire Extinguisher. It weighs only 39% of traditional 9

litre water but with three times the fire-fighting ability. With a special
additive that makes ordinary water more powerful and a special spray nozzle
that passed the 35KV electrical conductivity test, it's not surprising that this is
so popular for offices and shops

 The price of 3 litre around RM125.00 while 6 litre water additive is around
RM136.00

Chrome 6 litre water extinguisher Chrome 9 litre water extinguisher

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 The chrome 6 litre water extinguisher is not actually chrome at all. Better still, it is made from
highly polished stainless steel and is one of our most popular extinguishers for modern offices and
retail premises. Usually at price around RM277.00
 Suitable for designer-look offices and retail shops, hygiene-sensitive areas. Types of fire include
Class A (wood, paper, cloth, etc) but DO NOT use near live electrical equipment.
 Anticipated lifespan with indoor use and proper maintenance - 10 years +
 Special note although this chrome extinguishers are made alongside BS EN3 Kitemarked ones
and with the same components, as they are not painted red, they cannot display a Kitemark or
BAFE approval.
 The chrome 9 litre water extinguisher is not really chrome at all - it's better that that.
Manufactured from highly polished stainless steel and perfect for both the designer look or for
clean room environments.

 The typical steps for operating a water fire extinguisher (described by the acronym
"PASS") are the following:
P—Pull the safety pin
A—Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, from a safe distance (about six feet away)
S—Squeeze the handle
S—Sweep the extinguisher from side to side while aiming at the base of the fire

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 TABLE 1.1

 Table 1.1 above have show, there are several accepted classification methods for hand-
held fire extinguishers. Each classification is useful in fighting fires with a particular
group of fuel.

 The water type of extinguisher shown the signal of red to indicate it.

 There is information that can we obtain in (labelled) this type of fire extinguisher. For the
example for this type of water fire extinguisher. Example :-

ORDERING INFORMATION

Part No. : 430847

Approximate Shipping Weight: 9.0 lb. (4.1 kg)
Description: SENTRY® Model W02-1 Pressurized Water-Type Fire
Extinguisher 2.5 Gallons (9.5 Litres)

SPECIFICATION

Model No.: W02-1

UL Rating: 2-A
Capacity: 2.5 gallons (9.5 litres)
Extinguisher Height: 25.5 in. (64.8 cm)
Width: 9 in. (22.9 cm)
Depth: 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Range: 35 ft. (10.7 meters)
Discharge Time: Approximately 50 seconds
Bracket: Wall mount
Temperature: +40 °F to 120 °F (4.5 °C to 48.9 °C)

DESCRIPITION

The ANSUL® Stainless Steel Water Extinguisher can be utilized in many Class A
hazards such as office environments and industrial locations, as well as warehouse
and oxidizing chemical storage areas. The unit features a stainless shell and chrome

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 plated valve. The nameplate features easy to read step-by-step instructions for
operating the extinguisher. The Schrader valve allows for easy recharge in the field.

 Water fire extinguishers should be on the wall at one metre high or on fire stands.

 Also, if design in priority, why not consider a stainless steel water fire extinguisher.
Whilst this cannot claim BS EN3 certification due to the lack of red paint, it is made with
the same components and on the same line as the red-painted extinguishers so quality is
still assured.

 Along with a plastic base for floor standing, all extinguishers are supplied with a wall
mounting bracket for easy fitting. Where this is not suitable against partition walls, old
plaster, historic buildings, glass windows, have a look at the range of extinguisher stands
in coloured composite and chrome

NON-PORTABLE FIRE
EXTINGUISHER
WET RISER SYSTEM

 The wet riser system described above is a typical installation in a high-rise building. It is
used to supply water from the wet riser water tank, through wet riser pipes,
distributed to each floor, and ending at the canvas hoses and hose reels.

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 The wet riser canvas hoses are located at each lift lobby. Each canvas hose has a diameter
of 65 mm and a length of 30 m.

 Thus, buildings exceeding twenty storeys or 60m in height above ground level, which-
ever heights is the least, should be provided with one or more wet rising mains to be used
exclusively for fire-fighting purposes.

 As the name implies, the riser is always charged with water under pressure, fed by
pimping sets from break tank. Hydrants are connected to the riser on each floor and the
pumps should be capable of providing a pressure of 410 k Pa at the highest hydrant.

 To protect the hosepipe connected to the riser, the hydrants on the lower floor of tall
buildings should incorporate an orifice plate, so that when water is being discharged the
outlet pressure is limited on 520 k Pa

 A 75 mm diameter return pipe should be connected from the hydrants back to the
supply source and the static water pressure with no flow of water should not exceed 690
k Pa in the pipe work.

 The number of wet riser to be provided, the positions in which they are fitted, the
outlets fitted to them and all similar details of construction and materials should conform
to the same specifications as given for dry rising mains. The riser should only be installed
in a heated building and should be electrically earthed.

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 To provide an adequate supply of water to each riser at all times, duplicate pumps should be
provided, one of which is for stand-by purposes.

 Each pump should be capable of delivering a minimum flow rate of 15 litre/s. The pumps
should be connected in parallel, with their suctions permanently ‘wet’ when the tank is filled

 The pumps may be run by electrical power, in which case a stand-by generator of sufficient
capacity should be provided in case of mains failure. Alternatively, the stand – by pump may be
driven by petrol or a diesel engine.

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 PUMPING STATION

 The pumps above should be controlled to start automatically when a fall in pressure occurs in the
riser exceeding 3 percent of the normal static pressure is re – established . The pumps may
also be started by a flow of water when a fire brigade hose – reel is used and therefore a pressure
switch must be fitted in the pipeline on the delivery side of the pumps.

 In other word, the pipes supplying water to the hoses are pressurized all the time. Three
pumps supply the water from the tank to the hoses. The pumps are the duty pump, the stand-by
pump, and the jockey pump. Pressure switches along the pipe control the starting of each pump.

 When the hoses are in use, the pressure at each floor is controlled by landing valves that return
excess pressurized water back to the wet riser tank through drain pipes.

 The hose reels are also located at each lift lobby. Each hose reel has a diameter of 25 mm and a
length of 30 m. Pressure reducers are installed at the end of each wet riser pipe to supply a lower
pressured water to hose reels.

 When the valves of the hoses are opened, pressurized water will shoot out through the nozzles
of the hoses. The pressure in the piping will drop. The pressure switches at the pump room will
sense the drop in pressure and the pumps will start to pressurize the pipe again. A typical system
for a high-rise building is described below. The pressures are monitored at the pump room to
control the pumps.

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 There are 3 types’ pumps which can mostly found in the wet riser systems.

 Jockey Pump

 Duty Pump

 Stand – By Pump

a) Jockey Pump

 The first pump to start will be the jockey pump. The controlling pressure switch is
set to start the pump at a pressure of 150 psi and stop it when the pressure reaches
230 psi.

 If small leaks exist in the wet riser piping - either on the wet riser or hose reel - the
pump will start in order to compensate for the leak.

b) Duty Pump

 If the pressure drops below 125 psi, this means a wet riser landing valve or a hose reel
gate valve has been opened.

 The pressure switch that senses this set pressure activates and starts the duty pump.

c) Stand-by Pump

 If for any reason the pressure continues to drop below 125 psi, it means either the
duty pump has not started or is not available (under repair). The stand-by pump then
takes over the function that is not performed by the duty pump. The stand-by pump is
set to cut-in at 95 psi.

 Once the water flow is not needed any more the pressure builds up in the piping
network. The duty or stand-by pumps stops after the cut-out pressure is reached at 220
psi.

 The jockey pump continues to run until the system pressure reaches its cut-out
pressure of 230 psi.

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  For a low building, the system will be less complicated. However, the purpose of
supplying water to the fire fighting hoses is maintained.

FIRE HYDRANTS WET RISER VALVE

 According to the component of water riser system have been discuss the part of valve is
one of the main component should be aware.
 Hence, Fire Hydrant Valves act as outlets on Wet Riser systems and it suitable for
offshore applications, these 65mm Globe Valves in gunmetal, universal “Dual-Seal” type
comply with the requirements of BS5041 Part 1. Valve inlets flanged or screwed to your
requirements.
 Valve outlets 65mm female instantaneous to BS336. Wet Riser outlet cabinets for fire
hydrants and pressure regulating valves can also be supplied. Please ring for details.
 The main/major part pressure regulating valve is element type and integral type.

ELEMENT TYPE INTEGRAL TYPE

 Besides that, minor part of component in wet riser system valve is such as
following :-

a) Horizontal Landing Valve

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 b) Right Angle Landing Valve

c) Bib Nosed Landing Valve

d) Oblique Landing Valve

CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, the studies on fire fighting/protection systems give us more benefit to get
better understanding regarding to protect, avoid and how to handle when a certain area get off fire. On
this report, the information on the how to use it when in emergency situation have gained me to the
new knowledge.

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 Apart from that, the information that I had gathered when doing this report regarding both the
wet riser and water type extinguisher also can be shared to everyone who gives certain information in
the future when we all become quantity surveyor.

In short wet riser is used to supply from wet riser water tank, through wet riser pipes,
distribute to each floor, and ending at the canvas hoses and hose reels while water fire extinguisher is
mostly effective on Class A (wood, paper) fires, and it has the advantage of being inexpensive,
harmless, and relatively easy to clean up.

REFERENCES

 BOOKS
 Fire up Payson (fire fighter) by Vince Palandri (2001)
 Notes Building Services (Noor Akmall Abdillah_QS lecturer)

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 INTERNET/WEB
 www.wikipedia.com/dry_riser&wet_riser
 www.types-uses-fire-extinguishers.com.html
 www.fEx.com
 www.wet_riser_brochure,pdf.com
 www.fireprotectioncentre.com
 www.burnfire.com
 www.safetyplusfire.com

 BROCHURES
 Fire fighter industry sdn.bhd (direct from factory) - Selangor

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